HP’s Latest Printer is Crazy Cheap at Just $50

The $50 DeskJet 2600 prints, copies, and scans!

Printers are a tough sell in 2017. Receipts and tickets can now be called up on a mobile app, turn-by-turn navigation is universal for anyone with a mobile device, and now that we have digital picture frames, I’m not sure how many people are still printing photos. So, why get one? Simple — that one professor who demands your papers in paper form. You can’t print those papers at the library when you finish them 10 minutes before class begins.

Looks like HP has responded by making printers super cheap. The new DeskJet 2600 is only $50, and it’s not the bare bones printer you might expect. The DeskJet 2600 is actually an all-in-one printer, scanner, and copier. There’s even Wi-Fi Direct connectivity, which can be managed using a companion app. Wi-Fi Direct is a relatively new kind of Wi-Fi that connects two devices directly, without the need to access your home network.

How is it so cheap? HP stripped away features like larger paper trays and LCD displays, focusing on creating a basic all-in-one printer with simple, large button controls running down the side. There’s no fluff here — it’s built specifically for people who only need to print every once in a great while, and would like to do so while fiddling with the printer as little as possible. After all, every minute counts during the last-minute paper crunch.

Even at $50, it’s still kind of a tough sell — the price is great, but the printer will still take up loads of desk space, which isn’t ideal for something that is rarely used. Then again, with Wi-Fi connectivity, it can easily be tucked away under a desk somewhere. The HP DeskJet 2600 series will retail for $50, and should come to stores sometime this year.